8 dead, 38 hurt as tour bus crashes in California

Victims of a fatal bus crash reach out to comfort each other in the wake of the crash where at least eight people were killed and nearly two dozen injured when a bus carrying a group from Tijuana, Mexico crashed with two other vehicles on its way back from Big Bear Lake on Highway 38 north of Yucaipa, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. Both sides of the highway remained closed two and a half hours after the crash and it was unclear when it would reopen.

 

Investigators examine body bags of victims near the scene where at least eight people were killed and 38 people were injured after a tour bus carrying a group from Tijuana, Mexico crashed with two other vehicles near Yucaipa, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013.

Authorities work the scene where at least eight people were killed and nearly two dozen were injured when a bus carrying a group from Tijuana, Mexico crashed with two other vehicles on its way back from Big Bear Lake on Highway 38 north of Yucaipa, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. Both sides of the highway remained closed two and a half hours after the crash and it was unclear when it would reopen.

Investigators work at the scene, early Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, of the accident where at least eight people were killed and 38 people were injured Sunday after a tour bus carrying Mexican tourists careened out of control while traveling down a mountain road, striking a car, flipping and plowing into a pickup truck, near Yucaipa, Calif.

A California Highway Patrol officer stands near the crash scene where at least eight people were killed and nearly two dozen were injured when a bus carrying a group from Tijuana, Mexico crashed with two other vehicles on its way back from Big Bear Lake on Highway 38 north of Yucaipa, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. Both sides of the highway remained closed two and a half hours after the crash and it was unclear when it would reopen.

Authorities work the scene of an accident where at least eight people were killed and 38 people were injured after a tour bus carrying a group from Tijuana, Mexico crashed with two other vehicles near Yucaipa, Calif.,

Authorities continue their investigation at the scene where at least eight people were killed and 38 people were injured after a tour bus carrying a group from Tijuana, Mexico crashed with two other vehicles just north of Yucaipa, Calif.

Investigators continue working the scene where at least eight people were killed and 38 people were injured after a tour bus carrying Mexican tourists careened out of control while traveling down a mountain road, struck a car, flipped and plowed into a pickup truck, near Yucaipa, Calif., 

YUCAIPA, Calif. (AP) — At least eight people were killed and 38 injured Sunday when a tour bus careened out of control while traveling down a Southern California mountain road, struck a car, flipped and plowed into a pickup truck, authorities said.

The accident occurred around 6:30 p.m. about 80 miles east of Los Angeles and left State Route 38 littered with debris, the bus sideways across the two lanes and its front end crushed. Emergency crews worked to free passengers who were trapped in the bus, which was returning to Tijuana, Mexico, California Highway Patrol spokesman Mario Lopez said.
The violence of the crash and severity of the injuries made for a chaotic scene, and authorities had a difficult time determining how many people were injured or killed. Lopez said at least eight and perhaps 10 were dead, and 38 transported to hospitals.

California Department of Transportation spokeswoman Michelle Profant said the scene was shocking.

"It's really a mess up there with body parts," she said.

The bus driver survived and told investigators the bus suffered brake problems as it headed down the mountain, Lopez said. It rear-ended a sedan and flipped, then struck a pickup truck pulling a trailer.

Lettering on the bus indicated that it was operated by Scapadas Magicas LLC, a company based in National City, Calif. Federal transportation records show that the company is licensed to carry passengers for interstate travel and that it had no crashes in the past two years.

A call to the company was not immediately returned.

Jordi Garcia, a manager for InterBus Tours, said his company ran Sunday's trip. He told U-T San Diego that 38 people departed Tijuana at 5 a.m. for a day of skiing at Big Bear.

"The information that we have is that the bus' brakes failed and the accident occurred," he said.

Route 38 runs through the San Bernardino National Forest and leads to Big Bear. The accident occurred as the bus was headed south and leaving the forest.

Patients were taken to several area hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening. Among them, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center said it had treated six people, including two women who were discharged early Monday. The hospital said two other women were in critical condition while two other patients were stable.

The California crash comes less than a day after a bus carrying 42 high school students and their chaperones slammed into an overpass in Boston. Massachusetts state police said 35 people were injured and that the driver had directed the bus onto a road with a height limit.
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Associated Press writers Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles, and Amanda Kwan and Bob Seavey in Phoenix contributed to this report.